-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- In September 1985 a devastating earthquake measuring 8.1 on the Richter Scale smashed into Mexico City killing 10,000 people and leaving parts of the city in ruins .

Since then , the populous Latin American nation of 122 million has invested in one of the most advanced seismic warning systems anywhere in the world .

The SASMEX facility came online in 1991 and reacts to data gathered by sensors placed near major fault lines along Mexico 's Pacific coast .

Receivers dotted around five major cities , including Mexico City and Acapulco , will sound the alarm if they detect an earthquake .

It 's a system that can buy vital seconds for residents to brace themselves before the tremors begin .

But not everyone has access to a SASMEX receiver -- there are 100,000 in operation but at a cost of roughly $ 330 apiece , they are a luxury the majority of Mexicans ca n't afford .

Most receivers are stationed in the likes of public buildings , hospitals , schools and subway stations .

With roughly 21 million people living both formally and informally in and around Mexico City alone , that means many will not be aware the alarm is sounding until the ground begins shaking .

$ 50 alarm

According to local tech entrepreneur , Andres Meira , such vital services should be far more widely available .

Meira is no passive observer in this debate . He moved to Mexico City after working in Haiti and witnessing the devastation caused by the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the Caribbean island in 2010 killing more than 230,000 people .

It 's an experience that had a profound and lasting effect on him .

`` Until you live in one of these places you do n't really understand the primitive fear of earthquakes , '' he said . `` There are times when you ca n't sleep and sometimes you wake up in the middle of the night and make sure things are n't moving . ''

Now , after combining with local engineers and tech investors based in Silicon Valley , Meira believes he may have a solution that will bring the SASMEX signal to the masses .

It 's called the Grillo -LRB- the Spanish word for cricket -RRB- early warning system . The compact device -- a cube about the size of an alarm clock -- taps into the special frequencies that SASMEX operates on and relays that information to its users .

When seismic activity is detected , the Grillo sounds a loud , flashing alarm . At a cost of just $ 50 , it also undercuts the price of the receivers used primarily in public buildings by around 85 % .

`` This is the most affordable and the most direct way for the Mexican public to connect to the early warning system , '' Meira says of the product , which also became Mexico 's most successful ever Kickstarter campaign .

Mexico City 's geographic location and geological makeup put it at particular risk from seismic activity . There have been a handful of relatively small quakes in 2014 already .

Meira also hopes versions of the Grillo system could be introduced elsewhere in the world where earthquakes are a real risk -- like in Nepal , India , the West Coast of the U.S. and along much of the Pacific Coast of South America .

Missing education ?

But others point to the difficulty of introducing a mass warning system without first educating citizens on what to do when receiving a direct alert .

Speaking to McClatchyDC.com earlier this year , Arturo Iglesias Mendoza , director of the Institute of Geophysics at the National Autonomous University of Mexico , pondered what would happen if 5,000 of 60,000 people in a football stadium received an alert of an imminent earthquake ? `` People should know that the safest thing to do is to stay in the stadium , '' he said .

On top of that , the $ 50 price is still a considerable investment for many residents of a country where the average wage remains under $ 5 a day .

Then there is the fact that only a handful of early warning systems like SASMEX exist anywhere in the world . This means that Grillo will unlikely have government sourced data and advanced sensor system set up near major fault lines to tap into in many other locations .

Meira and his colleagues have anticipated such difficulties .

He speaks of the next stage of the Grillo project which will see hundreds of specially developed sensors placed all over Mexico , feeding into an algorithm that will provide early-warning alerts to apps and smartphones .

Warning app

Known as Grillo Active , the tiny orange devices contain a sensitive movement detector , microprocessor and a WiFi module to transmit a signal . Grillo are currently in talks with a major convenience store chain to locate the devices at between 500 and 1,000 of their stores around Mexico .

Such a wide spread will ensure more reliable and faster alerts .

`` The real test of a good infrastructure is the density of sensors , '' Meira said . `` This is our plan in Mexico . ''

Given that the devices can be produced cheaply and located anywhere with an internet connection , the potential for Grillo to be used in a variety of vulnerable areas around the world is very real .

Japan remains the only nation in the world where the entire country is hooked up to an early warning facility . And that system , which consists of 1,000 GPS sensors .

For now , however , this fledgling group 's focus remains on Mexico .

The first small batch of Grillo boxes produced have been sold , although they have n't yet seen any action in the field . Mexico 's last earthquake was recorded about six months ago , when the device was still in the prototype phase .

Meira hopes that the acid test does n't come too soon , but he expects a solid performance from his invention when it does .

`` The science is all there , '' he said . `` We have tested it out in two earthquakes and they worked just fine . One was a seven pointer -LRB- on the Richter scale -RRB- and it worked perfectly . ''

Now , they await the next earthquake .

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Grillo is a device that aims to bring a low-cost earthquake warning system to the masses in Mexico

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A number of major fault lines are situated along Mexico 's Pacific Coast

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Some say a widespread program of public education is required so people know what to do when seismic activity occurs